


Assimilation

by digestiivo



Series: horror aus [1]
Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Horror, Annihilation AU, Body Horror, Brief description of violence, F/F, Implied/Referenced Past Abuse, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-22
Updated: 2018-10-22
Packaged: 2019-07-29 09:26:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16261361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/digestiivo/pseuds/digestiivo
Summary: Alana's stomach dropped, fear gripping her insides as she watched the little green vines sprout along each of Margot's scars.





	Assimilation

**Author's Note:**

> tw for mild body horror, talk about self harm scars, and a very brief vague mention of past abuse

_Assimilation: the state or condition of being absorbed into something._

\--

Alana wasn't sure how long it had been since they entered the shimmer. The passage of time seemed nonexistent, warping just like everything else trapped within the all consuming, glimmering walls. The only thing she knew for certain was the fact that all of them were being altered too, down to every last cell. Something was thrumming just under her skin, increasing the closer they got to the lighthouse. If they ever managed to reach the lighthouse.  
  
Staring out into the strangely beautiful forest surrounding their little cabin, Alana thought about Freddie. Tried hard not to think about her screams in the night. The way her shrill, terrified cries twisted, distorted as they echoed from the mouth of the creature that seemed to absorb her.  
  
Chiyoh was gone, lost to the shimmer shortly after Freddie. Bedelia had struck out on her own, determined to reach the lighthouse and, in her words, peek behind the veil. Only she and Margot remained.

Will flitted across her mind. He had been gone in this place for a year. Turning up back at his house, seemingly from nowhere, as she had been there feeding his dogs. He was different. Alana could immediately tell something wasn't quite right about her friend of so many years, even before the blood had trickled from his mouth.

She swallowed thickly, nausea washing over her again, as the image from the video they found replayed in her mind. The footage on the video camera was undoubtedly real, even though her mind had tried to reject it. Will, shirtless and unkempt, had sank his knife deep into one of his squad members, carefully gutting him as another member held the whimpering man, whispering words of comfort into his sweaty hair. The sight of his wild eyes and awed grin as he stuck a bloodied hand into the man's squirming intestines haunted her.

Alana took a deep breath to shake herself from her thoughts, and stepped out into bright sunlight, shielding her eyes as she searched for Margot. She spotted her sitting in the grass not too far away, absently pulling up long green strands from the ground. As Alana approached her, she could see the faraway look she wore. Margot cast her a quick glance, eyes heavy with exhaustion, as Alana plopped down next to her. Alana attempted a warm smile, hoping it looked much better than she felt. Margot's lips tipped up into a little smile in return, fading as she looked away again.  
  
Dropping the blades of grass and flowers she had pulled from the ground, her slender fingers twitched against the scarred skin of her other wrist. Alana knew about the scars now, all of them.

Since the very start of the expedition, the two of them had gotten along well. They grew much closer after the creature masquerading as Freddie had come for them. The night after the attack, as the dark enveloped them, Margot had curled up next to Alana. It had all been too much. They both tried to hide their fear, but that night they let go.

Alana saw that something was weighing heavily on Margot's mind. She waited, not moving or saying anything, giving Margot the time she needed if she chose to speak. After a few moments, she quietly told Alana about her brother, and about the scars she had given to herself.  
  
Alana had held her as she cried, and tried hard not to let her own tears fall into Margot's soft curls. She wanted to be strong for her, for both of them, especially in the face of everything around them. But she had buried her face in Margot's hair, pressing gentle kisses there, and cried with her.  
  
Something changed when they reached the abandoned cabin. When Margot had examined the odd, human shaped plant growths. She had grown quiet, distant, staring out into the overgrown plant life surrounding them.

"I've been thinking about Freddie," her soft voice drew Alana's attention, "what it must have been like for her...when she died. She sounded so afraid. It must've been painful."

Alana wanted to reach out and take hold of her hand, feeling such a strong pull to the other woman. She stopped when she glanced down and caught sight of something undulating under Margot's skin. Margot trailed her fingertips over her arm, over the thin, raised lines twisting and sprouting from beneath her flesh.

"Dying like that, with so much pain and fear. I wouldn't like that at all."  
  
Alana's stomach dropped, fear gripping her insides as she watched the little green vines sprout along each of Margot's scars. She opened her mouth to say something, unsure what exactly she would or could even say, but Margot rose to her feet.  
  
She walked a few steps forward, eyes trained on the lush forest. The vines ran all along her arms, under the skin, and Alana could see more twisting and growing up her exposed neck.  
  
"Margot-," her voice was dry as she moved to stand.  
  
Margot turned back, her wide, green eyes clearer than they had been the entire expedition. When she spoke, her voice held a serene confidence.  
  
"Bedelia wants to face this, whatever it is. You want to fight it. But...," her curls bounced around her shoulders as she gently shook her head. Vines were sliding up under the smooth skin of her cheeks.  
  
Alana could only stare, dark brows furrowed. Her stomach flipped, and she thought for a moment she was going to be sick from the panic rising within herself.  
  
"I don't think I want either of those things," Margot finished, lips quirking into a tiny smile at Alana before she turned back to the forest.  
  
Alana found her voice as she watched Margot step into the overgrowth. She called her name, rushing after her, a hand outstretched to push branches and vines out of her way. When she broke through to the large clearing on the other side, blue eyes wide and stinging with unshed tears, she was alone.  
  
All around her stood the unmoving, human shaped plants. Despite the panic and anguish swelling within her at losing Margot and being left all alone, the clearing exuded a quiet sense of peace. Although she could no longer see Margot, couldn't, at that moment, wrap her mind entirely around what had happened, she somehow knew that Margot had found what she wanted.  
  
Alana let the tears roll down her cheeks, lips pressed tight into a thin line. She lifted her eyes to the sky and could see the tip of the lighthouse just passed the glimmering treetops. She was close, and Bedelia was still out there, somewhere.  
  
She thought about Will and Margot, Freddie and Chiyoh, and all the countless others lost to the shimmer. Clenching a tight fist around the chest strap of her bag, she watched the plant people for a long moment, and then pushed on ahead. Her skin pulsed. She could feel every last molecule thrumming and changing. Something was pulling her toward the lighthouse, and she was determined to find it.

**Author's Note:**

> i've always really liked aus, and wanted to combine two of my special interests: horror+hannibal! (i kno, hannibal Is horror but its a separate special interest for me+i just love the idea of placing hannibal characters in different horror environments^^)
> 
> thank u so much to everyone that has read and enjoyed my stuff so far, and to everyone that has left kudos and comments! i really appreciate it a lot!!^v^


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